With help from the ELCA Southwestern Texas Synod, young ELCA members in Texas receive a chance for a brighter future. | more »
Faith and spirituality
To have some time each and every day — to put aside whatever is going on and to read Scripture, pray, journal and reflect on my faith is powerful. | more »
ELCA mission developer Margaret Kelly sees her ministry bringing “new life” to those living with poverty and homelessness. | more »
Sometimes we need to open and spring clean our spiritual houses too. To stop and take a breath and give our internal living spaces a good, strong scrubbing. | more »
As broken but loved people, as humans who have been saved by the gospel, we still maintain the capacity for messing up our lives. | more »
Maybe we don't know how to decorate for Pentecost, the way we do for Christmas. It's great to change the paraments to red. But we could do so much more. | more »
Emanuel Lutheran Church in West Warwick, R.I. was the first ELCA congregation powered by renewable energy. | more »
The Lakota Lutheran Center is proud to be "a community of American Indian people who are serving those in need." | more »
ELCA World Hunger helps an ELCA congregation in O’Fallon, Ill., reach out to its neighbors. | more »
A new ELCA ministry in Durham, N.C., invites the community to get creative about expressing their faith. | more »
The ELCA's "Ventures in Growing Stewards" workshop is just one way David Kappus promotes stewardship in the ELCA Eastern Washington-Idaho Synod. | more »
Members of Spirit of Truth, an ELCA congregation under development, fight for workers' rights in the St. Paul, Minn., area. | more »
A worshiping community in northwest Wisconsin reaches out to those who “aren’t interested in walking into a church building.” | more »
Occasionally, glancing up from my computer at the train window, I would think we were going forward when in fact the neighboring train was the only one moving. | more »
The ELCA homeless ministry network helps ministries like Central City Lutheran Mission in San Bernardino, Calif., provide a welcoming home. | more »
An ELCA ministry at the Nebraska State Penitentiary rallies around prisoners to help them “find their place in the world upon their release.” | more »
Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy complicate recovery in Haiti, but the effort to improve life there presses on. | more »
Why does prayer matter? We answer that question with: How has prayer helped you?
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ELCA Fund for Leaders scholarship recipient Dione Miller gets her passion for service from her aunt Carolyn, a former ELCA missionary. | more »
This is no time to run and hide. It isn’t time to be caught asleep or medicating ourselves with escapist self-indulgence. | more »
Consider ways of highlighting the juxtaposition of the resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. | more »
Consider making two moves. The first is attentiveness. The second move is courage, fearlessness, a refusal to accept what is presented to you as the only thing possible. | more »
At Bread of Healing in Milwaukee, members are offered a hot meal, free health care and a powerful community. | more »
Besides helping children in Peru, ELCA Missionary Sponsorship is a way for Julie Pavri and Dana Nelson to spread the gospel and to stay in touch. | more »
A developing ELCA congregation in Brooklyn, N.Y., meets a hunger in the community. | more »
It’s wonderful to be reminded that through the ups and downs of feeling comfortable and confident, and lost and lonely — I’m not walking alone. | more »
Here are some words of comfort for times of trouble. | more »
For the Zimmanns, taking on positions as ELCA missionaries in Jordan and the Holy Land is a new adventure for the whole family. | more »
For an ELCA worshiping community, the cross necklaces they wear have become more than just jewelry — they have become a part of who they are. | more »
Here are some ways a pastor and congregation can help those who are in the muddle or crisis of midlife. | more »
Favorites are ones that “seem simple but are really effective.” | more »
I hear the protests now. You’re too busy. We’re all too busy — and that’s the very reason we should take a retreat on a regular basis. | more »
“Those who are still afraid of men have no fear of God and those who have fear of God have ceased to be afraid of men.” | more »
As one of the ELCA Fund for Leader’s first full-tuition scholarship recipients, Lynnae Sorensen brings a special perspective to her Austin, Texas, congregation. | more »
Peace Lutheran Church in Milwaukee gets creative about stewardship. | more »
Far from dismissing what science has shown us about the natural world, we embrace what science has shown us about the majesty of God. | more »
Our prayer gives voice to our longing for God’s grace and shapes our expectations for encountering that grace in our lives and in the world. | more »
We’ve asked ELCA pastors from across the country to recommend their favorite inspirational quotes. Here is what they had to say. | more »
For 25 years, Sherman Hicks has fought to make the ELCA a diverse and welcoming place for people from all walks of life. | more »
Hope Lutheran Church in Rhodes, Mich., makes a point of sharing its blessings with neighbors. | more »
I had been given a chance to live my faith, and I hadn’t taken it. I had turned my back on someone in need. | more »
The signs of resurrection and new life were at first so small, it was easy to miss them — and to dismiss them. | more »
Peter says, “I’m going fishing” — getting back to normal — but because of the Risen Christ, nothing can be normal again. | more »
Christians around the world gather to remember Jesus’ death and celebrate his resurrection. | more »
I just want to be here, to honor the sense of call that has led me to this place, this program and these beautiful people. | more »
The Samaritans at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kissimmee, Fla., take on homelessness in Disney World’s backyard. | more »
For all of the times I have joined in the Easter Alleluias, it still is hard to comprehend that God does what is in no human way possible and to realize that death no longer has the last word. | more »
Some who saw the risen Christ still doubted, while others, who have never seen him, believe fervently. | more »
Stephen Martin, an ELCA chaplain, spent a year helping his sisters and brothers in the armed forces cope with the effects of war. | more »
As much as I’d personally love seeing some singing rocks, Jesus reveals in his display of weakness, of humility and of non-violence the way that God does work. | more »
I’m a Lutheran pastor. My wife is Jewish. This time of year brings both beauty and tension in sharp relief for us. | more »
Mary discovered that things had changed, the tomb was empty, the body was missing, and angels were lurking about. She had come upon the greatest “but God” moment of them all. | more »
They are a gift of God’s love and, like that love, freely given.
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This year the real meaning of March Madness is an endless winter that drives one to despair of ever seeing spring again. | more »
Sara Massey experiences first-hand the impact ELCA Youth Gatherings have on the communities where they are held. | more »
The Catacomb Churches in western Washington want to "to engage as saints and sinners, not as people with all the answers." | more »
For Molly Cook, faith hasn't been that "gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, never-ceasing" experience. Serving in Malaysia, however, seems to be changing that. | more »
Our current spiritual lives are perfectly satisfying, perfectly nourishing, if we could only bring ourselves to feel happy about them.
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Salem Lutheran Church lives by the motto "In the city for good to do good in the city." | more »
The new ”Connect Bible” encourages young people to not only read the text but delve into the story and see how it connects with their life. | more »
Mother of the Savior Lutheran Church in Dearborn, Mich., joins with its neighbors to fight intolerance. | more »
Every November, Peace Lutheran Church in Tacoma, Wash., hosts a holiday bazaar for those who need it most. | more »
When Christ shines in the darkness of our world, there is real hope for safe harbor. | more »
Grace Lutheran Church finds itself on a journey of faith, facing the challenge of how to demonstrate the love of God to new neighbors. | more »
When absolution is pronounced, it is pronounced on behalf of God. It draws us out of the echo chamber of our own inner feelings and into relationship. | more »
Easter promises that death will not have the final answer. But Lent reminds us that life is short, and redemption requests so much of us. How to cope? | more »
These stories remind us to never give up when we feel lost in the universe for God is always out there looking for us. | more »
Members of St. James Lutheran Church in Grosse Pointe, Mich., commemorate St. Francis Day with some of God’s creatures. | more »
Placing thumbprints and signatures on their new charter was an important milestone for all members at River of Hope, an ELCA worshiping community in Hutchinson, Minn.
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Such fears are too often personally devastating and publicly debilitating if left ignored or unresolved. | more »
ELCA missionaries in the Central African Republic won’t let an emergency evacuation keep them from God’s work. | more »
While it is easy to shake our heads at these hearty partiers and feel morally superior, the truth is that we live in a Mardi Gras culture year-round and nationwide. | more »
“What gets me through?” asks ELCA member Herb Nellis. “That people care.” | more »
Cathedral in the Night welcomes everyone who worships, “rain, sun, snow or shine.” | more »
The whole Christian community has the privilege and responsibility to celebrate and support God’s gift of baptism in a number of ways. | more »
Now that Lent is here, I have two opportunities to go to church. God and I have the best times when I am in church. | more »
I am tempted to grip other gods too tightly and I ask God to open my hands to receive the life offered us all at the end of these 40 days. | more »
Jesus was able to face down Herod the fox because he had faith in the God of promise. | more »
If you want to understand what is going on in a congregation, you need to listen to the stories. | more »
Elim Lutheran Church in Duluth, Minn., is saving money by saving the planet. | more »
We asked the ELCA Resource Center directors: What devotional resources would you recommend for individual or small-group use during Lent? | more »
Volunteers from the South-Central Wisconsin Synod get creative when it comes to spreading the word about ELCA World Hunger. | more »
But maybe I’m more like Peter than I care to admit. I like my comfort zone. I like to revel in great experiences. | more »
And so, we come up to Lent with two attitudes: One is represented by being shriven. The other is represented by getting FAT. | more »
Who we think we are shapes how we think we are entitled or obliged to behave. | more »
The goal should go beyond merely raising enough money to pay the bills. | more »
A Wisconsin congregation raises over $17,000 for the ELCA campaign to help contain the disease in Africa. | more »
ELCA Fund for Leaders scholarship recipient Joseph Graumann discovers his calling through the people around him. | more »
If I hear one more time how much I must be “praying for the 49ers” to win Super Bowl XLVII, I think I’m going to pray for God to smite something. | more »
Find Golgotha and sit in shadow for a while, but find love there. Find love. For long ago before time, it already had found you. | more »
Members of Leaven Project in Portland, Ore., make a commitment to serve their changing neighborhood. | more »
When we go back to read about the lives of women in medieval times, it's amazing that more women didn't fight harder to join the cloistered life. | more »
In a “perfect storm of God’s goodness," a congregation in Milwaukee helps build a home for one of their own. | more »
For the second time in its history, Atonement Lutheran Church in Chicago will become home to a growing, invigorated community of members. | more »
Instead of giving something up for Lent, why not add something to enrich your spiritual life? | more »
Look other members of Christ’s body in the eye and realize the unity to be found in him, says Martin Marty. | more »
God cares about our reputations, both the way others talk about us and the way we think and talk about ourselves. | more »
Participants in this small-group study are often amazed to discover the contemporary implications of the Large Catechism. | more »
The ELCA's first new-mission start celebrates its 25th anniversary by branching out. | more »
An ELCA congregation in Orlando celebrates Epiphany “Puerto Rican style.” | more »
Recent Comments
blessedchurchmouse: “Great story! Thank you for posting. Blessings : )” | more »
Charles Oberkehr: “This year, we got 7 foot shimmering red streamers and” | more »
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Peter: “When I hear lawns in a religious context, I tend” | more »